Meaning and background
The story behind Mata
Mata is particularly interesting because identical spellings arise in different surnames. In Spanish and Portuguese family names it can come from places called Mata, linked with woodland. Catalan sources instead refer to scrub, while Hungarian, Slovak and Albanian surname histories involve shorter forms of personal names. These should not be flattened into “Mata means forest” for everyone. The name's open vowels do, however, make it concise to pronounce.
- Origin
- Surname with multiple histories: Spanish/Portuguese place-derived woodland names; Catalan scrubland names; or personal-name diminutives in other languages. Source
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Everyday moments“Mata, come here!”
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About Mata
Recorded as a dog’s name
Mata appears in 2 dog licence records in the 2018 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/mɑtə/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/mɑtə/ · primary stress on syllable 1M AA1 T AH0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.